AFL Round 9 Hawthorn v North Melbourne: All the news and action from Launceston
Hawthorn’s season hit a new low in Launceston but the Hawks’ rebuild could get a big talent injection at the top end of this year’s draft.
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Hawthorn has an increasingly strong hand in what shapes as a “thin” national draft this year as it searches for a way to inject talent and quickly bounce back up the ladder.
The Hawks’ 2021 season went from bad to worse on Saturday as they fell to a previously winless North Melbourne in Launceston, leaving them just one game and percentage off the bottom of the ladder.
However, Hawthorn’s continuing struggles — coupled with Collingwood’s ongoing woes — mean the chances of the Hawks having three picks inside the top 23 at this year’s draft are firming fast.
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Hawthorn currently holds picks 2, 20 and 21 – the last of those tied to Collingwood.
Expected father-son selections of Nick Daicos (Collingwood) and Sam Darcy (Western Bulldogs) in the top 10 would push back those picks slightly.
However, the Hawks could still be jumped on the ladder by the Kangaroos and secure the No.1 pick and therefore the other standout player in this year’s draft alongside Daicos – South Australian midfielder Jason Horne.
Hawthorn plays only four fellow bottom-eight teams in a tough run home — Gold Coast, Essendon, Adelaide and Carlton.
North Melbourne faces six bottom-eight sides Essendon (twice), Gold Coast, Adelaide, St Kilda and Carlton during its final 13 games.
Hawthorn has not won a wooden spoon since 1965.
JON RALPH: BOLD TRADE MOVES HAWKS SHOULD CONSIDER
Opposition recruiters believe this year’s draft pool is one of the weaker ones in recent years but still has a solid top end which the Hawks will be in the thick of.
“There’s not a lot of depth,” one recruiter said.
“The talent pool thins out a bit after about 25.”
Hawthorn secured only two top-30 picks in last year’s draft in Denver Grainger-Barras (pick 6) and Seamus Mitchell (pick 29).
Hawks chief executive Justin Reeves told the Herald Sun last week that the club would almost certainly use its first pick in this year’s draft, while coach Alastair Clarkson on Friday acknowledged last week that this year’s draft would be a focus.
“You can swing it around really, really quickly if you’ve got good culture and good vision at your club,” Clarkson said.
ROOS BREAK DUCK IN TASSIE THRILLER
— Adam Smith
North Melbourne has engineered a stunning second half comeback to snap a 17-match losing streak and deliver coach David Noble his first win as an AFL coach in his home state.
The Roos trailed Hawthorn by as many as 32 points early in the second quarter at UTAS Stadium, and were down by 22 at the main break in the bottom of the table clash.
But led brilliantly by the club’s next wave of talent in Jy Simpkin (38 disposals), Luke Davies-Uniacke (24), Cameron Zurhaar (four goals) and hometown hero Tarryn Thomas, the Roos turned the tables to chalk up a 13.9 (87) to 12.8 (80) victory.
It was the side’s first since defeating Adelaide in round nine last year and finally gave Tasmanian Noble his first in charge.
Trailing by a point at the final change, the Roos hit the front for the first time since the opening seconds of the contest when Zurhaar marked 25m out and slotted his third major.
He added another shortly after courtesy of a free kick, before the Hawks responded to snatch back the lead when James Cousins converted a 35m set shot and Jack Scrimshaw unloaded a bomb from beyond the 50m arc.
However North refused to wilt, with Taylor Garner’s third goal putting his team back in front midway through the term and Thomas sending local fans wild when he kicked truly from 40m to extend the lead to 11 points entering time on.
A late goal from Luke Breust ensured a frantic final few minutes, but the Roos clung on to register a memorable victory.
WELCOME HOME TARRYN
Launceston native Tarryn Thomas hadn’t played a competitive match on his home ground since winning the 2018 Tasmanian State League premiership with North Melbourne, but it didn’t take long for the emerging North Melbourne star to reacquaint himself. Thomas had the first kick of the match, delivering a lace out pass from the opening centre bounce to Cameron Zurhaar who marked 45m from goal but was unable to convert.
Mahony, Powelly and Charlie. pic.twitter.com/XJkElHNoi9
— North Melbourne (@NMFCOfficial) May 15, 2021
WONDERFUL WINGARD
The Roos dominated the early stages of the clash but failed to convert on the scoreboard, and the Hawks made them pay dearly once they found their groove. The highlight of the opening term was Chad Wingard, who slotted a pair of classy goals from 30m on the boundary out on the wrong side for a left footer, one on the run and one from a set shot.
JOEY LEADS THE FIGHTBACK
A big third quarter from Luke Davies-Uniacke helped engineer the Roos brilliant comeback in the third stanza. With opportunities aplenty due to the club’s extensive injury list, “LDU” stepped to the plate, amassing 10 disposals and five clearances — as well as slotting a goal — on route to his best match of the season.
ROOS 1.1 5.2 9.7 13.9 (87)
HAWKS 5.3 8.6 9.8 12.8 (80)
SMITH’S BEST Roos: Simpkin, Goldstein, Cunnington, Davies-Uniacke, Zurhaar, Garner Hawks: Cousins, Scrimshaw, Hardwick, Shiels, Wingard
GOALS Roos: Zurhaar 4, Garner 3, Goldstein, Larkey, Taylor, Mahony, Davies-Uniacke, Thomas Hawks: Wingard 2, Koschitzke 2, Cousins 2, Bruest 2, Lewis, Shiels, Moore, Scrimshaw
INJURIES Roos: nil Hawks: nil
UMPIRES: Brown, Findlay, Rebeschini
UTAS STADIUM
Crowd: 9121
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
ADAM SMITH’S VOTES
3 Jy Simpkin
2 Todd Goldstein
1 Ben Cunnington
NOBLE: BREAKTHROUGH WIN A GIFT TO OUR FANS
It was the birthday present David Noble will never forget but North Melbourne’s coach labelled Saturday’s drought breaking victory a gift for the club’s long suffering fans.
The Roos snapped a 17-match, 287-day winless streak with their stirring come from behind seven-point win against Hawthorn in Launceston, Noble’s first as an AFL senior coach.
The script couldn’t have ended any better for the 54-year-old, who got to sing the Roos’ song for the first time on his home soil.
However Noble refused to entertain a view it was a “monkey off the back” for a side that had not tasted success since round nine last year, instead believing it was the culmination of weeks of smaller victories which hadn’t shown on the scoreboard.
“I can understand the thought around that but we felt like we’ve been chasing wins in certain areas of our game that hasn’t necessarily correlated to the scoreboard, which has been disappointing and probably frustrating I think internally,” Noble said.
“I don’t think it feels like that for us, that ‘monkey’s off the back’, but I understand the sentiment.
Nobes ⚪ï¸ðŸ”µ
— Patrick Dangerfield (@dangerfield35) May 15, 2021
Well done, North Melbourne and David Noble. Plenty of people were hanging out for the Roos to go winless.
— Marc McGowan 🗣âœï¸ðŸ‘¨ðŸ»â€ðŸ’»ðŸ“° (@ByMarcMcGowan) May 15, 2021
Fitzroy in 1964 remains the last team to go through a season without a victory.
Well done @NMFCOfficial ... that’s Shinboner Spirit. What a great birthday present for David Noble! Reward for effort.
— Glenn McFarlane (@MaccaHeraldSun) May 15, 2021
“I’m really encouraged for our players to get that sense and that nourishment of what a win feels like, particularly that, three, four or five minutes afterwards.
“Really pleased for a range of our people in our members particularly, and our fans, they’ve been hanging in there with us for a few weeks now as we’ve progressively got better.
“We’ve loved their support, they’ve been nothing but strong in their support and understanding where we’re going and this one’s probably for them.
“It all sort of seemed to fit and line up didn’t it, it was a gutsy win and it’s how I’d like our team to sort of stand for, lots of character and I thought they showed that today in spades.”
Down by 32 points early in the second quarter and 28 early in the third after the Hawks booted the opening goal of the second half, the Roos rattled on six unanswered goals either side of three quarter time to snatch the lead.
Hawthorn responded to again put their noses in front, but a composed North stuck to its guns to hang on at the death.
It was a comeback built on midfield domination, with the Roos dominating clearances 49-29 and contested possession 145-123.
“We’ve got to continue to get better with the composure of the ball at times but I felt we actually took a step forward with the composure of getting back in front once we’d been headed,” Noble said.
CLARKO PUTS HEAT ON MIDFIELD AFTER HARSH LESSON
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has declared his side must get tougher at the coalface after being “overwhelmed” by a second half midfield masterclass from North Melbourne.
The Hawks let slip a position of dominance early in the third quarter at their UTAS Stadium fortress, coughing up a 28-point lead after James Cousins’ opening goal of the second half.
Although Roos ruckman Todd Goldstein had a tight battle with opposite number Ben McEvoy in the hit-outs (28-26), his midfielders comprehensively won the clearance count to engineer the comeback.
Jy Simpkin, Ben Cunnington and Luke Davies-Uniacke had 37 of North’s 49 clearances, helping the visitors smash the Hawks 49-29 in the category.
“We did some good things early and put ourselves in a position to win the game but from midway through the third quarter they were the better side by far and we couldn’t get our hands on the footy,” Clarkson said.
“Three of their guys had 37 clearances between them which is a huge tally.
“When they had momentum in that part of the ground it became a territory battle and they were winning far too much, our defence was simply overwhelmed.
“I think we lost clearances by 20… I can’t recall teams winning games when you lose by that margin in the middle of the ground.
“We need to get tougher and harder and stronger around the ball, in the first part of the game despite us not being dominant in that [area] we were more competitive.”
The loss leaves the second last Hawks 2-7 and with it likely more scrutiny.
However Clarkson said there was enough to like from the first half, but his side continues to struggle to string together four quarters of effort.
“There were some positive things, the disappointing thing is we lost a game of footy that we put ourselves in a position to win.
“The good sides are able to produce that footy for four quarters and we have only been able to do it one quarter or two quarters, and that’s not enough to win games of footy.
“There is only one way forward and that is to keep turning up to training and keep working hard and we will find a way to improve.”
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